Tech
MLS Innovation Lab member Fitogether looks to expand their player tracking technology in the US
MLS is testing Fitogether's sensor fusion technology and real-time kinematics as part of their nine-month program.
Fitogether
Alongside Field 1 of the IMG Academy campus last week was the booth for GPS wearable company Fitogether, flanked by a series of posters touting its No. 1 accuracy in FIFA testing for five straight years, its direct pitch-to-cloud data transmission and the tagline, “Don’t settle for flat,” in reference to its precision 3D tracking.
This was part of the Generation Adidas Cup at which MLS Innovation Lab participants were invited to showcase their wares. Orlando City B and Inter Miami II players wore Fitogether devices during their MLS Next Pro game, too.
It was an important milestone for Korea-headquartered Fitogether as it tries to gain market share in the US. Its primary entry to date has been through a partnership with Kinexon. While Kinexon’s indoor sports LPS (local positioning system) devices are widely used, particularly in the NBA, it partnered with Fitogether to use the latter’s GPS hardware for outdoor sports but then layer its software analytics on top.
Fitogether achieves FIFA’s top-rated accuracy and Preferred Provider status through two techniques. One is sensor fusion, which leverages the inertial measurement units (IMUs) — i.e. the accelerometer and gyroscope — to fill in the gaps of the typical GPS sampling rate of 10 times per second. The other is called real-time kinematics, and it uses a stationary, on-site anchor that collects data at a higher frequency.
Fitogether
“Normal GPS solutions give you maximum two- to three-meter accuracy, whereas we could reach two- to three-centimeter accuracy,” Fitogether Co-Founder/CEO Jinsung Yoon said. “We achieve centimeter-level, 10-hertz, 3D tracking data, and then we interpolate those gaps with the accelerometers and the gyro so that you can see the angles and the rotation. That is our core asset.”
This ultra-precision technology is what led Kinexon to integrate the hardware, helping “deliver outstanding data quality, unparalleled live capabilities, and highly automated processing to streamline tasks for coaching staff,” Kinexon Sports Co-Founder and Managing Director Maximilian Schmidt wrote in an email. Several teams in the Bundesliga, NCAA football and the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts are among the users.
Outside of North America, Fitogether’s primary reach is in Korea where it is an official K-League partner, supplying its technology at all levels from elite to youth. Also helping the company reach new markets is Ramm Mylvaganam, a non-executive director with Fitogether whose storied sports tech career began as creator and CEO of the original optical tracking company ProZone, before joining the founding teams of the Apollo athlete management system and AI Abacus, a soccer analytics firm.
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Fitogether also syncs with camera systems to automate player identification — streamlining a tedious manual task — and creating the opportunity for tactical analysis and fan engagement. This hybrid system received certification from FIFA as the first integrated player tracker using only a single camera.
Yoon noted that creating such data-driven content for viewers is typically in the hands of major sports leagues, who operates the enterprise tracking systems (such as Hawk-Eye and Second Spectrum).
"There are big demands for the data augmentation for the video content,” Yoon said. “But due to the cost of the system and the working structure, these [technologies] are only led by the league. But what we can provide is our infrastructure is run by the club, so we can help clubs to create their own content and then communicate with their own fans with the data in more depth. “
That athlete performance monitoring is the top objective for the MLS right now, although other use cases are possible down the road. As for Fitogether’s original inclusion in the Innovation Lab, MLS SVP of Emerging Ventures Chris Schlosser was bullish on seeing how it performs compared to what the league’s constituents are already using.
“It’s a company in Asia doing, we think, really interesting things but one that we want to put into an MLS environment, actually do our own validation and testing on their data outputs, bring in our coaching staffs to take a look at the data versus their existing systems,” Schlosser said. “And this gives us now a nine-month roadmap to really kick the tires and understand, is their system truly differentiated from the systems that exist today?
"If they prove that, ‘Hey, we really do have super low latency, very high accurate data,’ well, then, of course, we're going to want to find ways to work with them.”
